Archive for the ‘Chatni and Pickle’ Category

I love mangoes in any shape, any color, and any style. Mango marmalade, mango chutney, mango in dal, mango puree, mango shake, mango kulfi – you just name it and I know it’s my favorite. Start March every year, the markets are filled with the green raw mangoes. My mom prepares various types of mango dishes, and I devour them with pleasure. Mango marmalade is similar to all fruit marmalades, but it’s the best. In Bengal we have a saying; Mango is the king of all fruits; if you ask anybody to justify this they will give you a hundred and one reasons.

Ingredients:

Raw Mango (Kancha Aam): 2

Sugar (Chini): ½ cup

Red Chili (Sukhno Lanka): 3 – 4

Fennel (Mouri): 2 teaspoons

Sunflower or Vegetable oil (Sada tel): 1 tablespoon

Salt (Laban): 1 teaspoon

Preparation:

Peel off and cut the mangoes into 3 inches longitudinal pieces

Mix the mangoes with the salt and keep aside for half-an-hour, pat dry the mango pieces

Heat oil in a wok, add the dry chilies, throw in the mangoes as the chilies start changing color

Sauté the mangoes till the upper layer is partially hardened

In another vessel pour in the sugar with 2 tablespoon of water and heat over low flame

Add the fried mangoes to the sugar syrup and cook over low flame till the mangoes are soft and the syrup is almost dry

Roast the fennel seeds and pour over the cooked mangoes

Keep in an air tight dry container

Mango marmalade can be kept without refrigeration for almost a month, and if you keep it in the refrigerator till will stay longer.

Tips: Never use a wet spoon to take out the marmalade and always keep in air tight container

Enjoy the mango marmalade throughout the summer, it’s good for keeping yourself cool and is a good accompaniment at the breakfast table. Look for more updates on this blog, till then Happy Cooking and Happy Eating.

It seems as if without a bowl of chatni Bengali platter is never complete. The little bowl of chatni at the end of any meal brings a fulfillment to the meal. Chatni, for those who are not so aware of this word, is a sweet serving prepared of tomato, ripe mango, pineapple, or for that matter any sour fruits and even dry fruits. Chatni is prepared in various styles in all Bengali households. The preparation also depends on the season; tomato for winter, ripe mango for the summers, or any seasonal fruits during its time. The main ingredient though a fruit it is often accompanied with sugar or jaggery for enhancing the sweetness of the dish.
The last time when I went home, mom gave me a whole jar of jaggery. I had completely forgotten about it, last night I was cleaning up the kitchen when I found this jar, and the first thing that came to mind was having it with milk and rice. I was thinking of what else to do with that, when I saw the tomatoes. The answer to my question was instantaneous; chatni is the best option.
I prepared it this way; you can prepare it in any way possible. I will try to post some other types of chatni on my following posts. The combination of jaggery and dry chili helps in increasing its shelf life to almost two days without refrigeration.
For this chatni the only spice used is panch phoron. Panch phoron, as the name suggests is a combination of five different spices; “panch”, meaning five and “phoron” is spice. Nigella, cumin, fenugreek, fennel, and mustard mixed in same proportions are used for preparing panch phoron. This combination of spices is an earmark of Bengali cuisine. It is used in preparations like Khichudi and vegetarian dishes .